RIC Ranked #1 Rehabilitation Hospital in the Nation by U.S. News & World Report

RIC’s Clinical and Scientific Leadership

Chicago - The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) has been ranked the #1 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation hospital inU.S. News & World Report’s 2011-12Best Hospitals rankings, available online at www.usnews.com/besthospitals. RIC has been ranked #1 longer than any other specialty hospital in the nation. RIC’s quality clinical care and innovative research advance patient ability and set standards for care throughout the world.

RIC is the top destination for patients from around the globe who suffer from disease or injury and are in search of the best rehabilitation care. With its research fueling novel treatments for a wide variety of patient conditions, the demand for RIC’s services has grown progressively in recent years and is becoming more important than ever, especially with aging demographics.

“It’s an exciting time to be part of RIC,” said Joanne C. Smith, MD, CEO of RIC. “Twenty years ago, we did not have the scientific knowledge or the smart tools that we have today. As we begin to converge our research with medical care in new ways, we will better understand and solve the most important patient problems, better and faster. And we will advance the recovery and Ability of our patients beyond what we are achieving today.”

To bring this vision to life, RIC has begun conceptual planning for a new research hospital for land it acquired at 630 N. McClurg Court in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. To test its new model of care during the design process, RIC is renovating a floor at its existing hospital to create the world’s first Ability LabTM, a space that merges current interventions with applied research. Smith called it “a novel space and fertile ground for great discoveries and great hope.

“RIC is innovating treatments that close the gap between what could be and what will be possible for our patients in the future,” she said.

About U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospital” Rankings

The rankings, annually published by U.S. News for the past 22 years, will also be featured in the U.S. News Best Hospitals guidebook, which will go on sale August 30. The latest rankings showcase 720 hospitals out of about 5,000 hospitals nationwide. Each is ranked among the country’s top hospitals in at least one medical specialty and/or ranked among the best hospitals in its metro area.

Covering 94 metro areas in the U.S., the regional hospital rankings complement the national rankings by including hospitals with solid performance nearly at the level of nationally ranked institutions. The regional rankings are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked Best Hospital or who may not be willing or able to travel long distances for medical care. The U.S. News metro rankings give many such patients and their families more options of hospitals within their community and in their health insurance network.

“These are hospitals we call ‘high performers.’ They are fully capable of giving most patients first-rate care, even if they have serious conditions or need demanding procedures,” Comarow said. “Almost every major metro area has at least one of these hospitals.”

Hard numbers stand behind the rankings in most specialties—death rates, patient safety, procedure volume, and other objective data. Responses to a national survey, in which physicians were asked to name hospitals they consider best in their specialty for the toughest cases, also were factored in.

The rankings cover 16 medical specialties and all 94 metro areas that have at least 500,000 residents and at least one hospital that performed well enough to be ranked.

About The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) is the nation’s #1 ranked provider of comprehensive physical medicine and rehabilitation care to patients from around the world and is the leader in research and development of the cutting-edge treatments and technologies in its field. Through aggressive medical protocols, RIC guides the patient care process toward a better outcome.

RIC holds an unparalleled market distinction with a record seven multi-year, multi-million dollar federal research designations awarded and funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Education’s National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research in the areas of spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, neurological rehabilitation, outcomes research and rehabilitation engineering research. RIC operates its 165-bed, current flagship hospital in downtown Chicago, as well as a network of more than 30 sites of care distributed throughout the Midwestern region, through which it delivers inpatient, day rehabilitation and outpatient services.

Founded in 1954, RIC has been designated the “#1 Rehabilitation Hospital in America” by U.S. News & World Report every year since 1991. RIC sets the standard of care in the post-acute market through its innovative applied research and discovery programs, particularly in the areas of neuroscience, bionic medicine, musculoskeletal medicine and technology transfer. For more information, go to www.ric.org.